‘No more Mr Nice Guy’: Trump renews threat to destroy Iran’s power grid, bridges
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The news: Threatening to “knock out every single power plant and every single bridge in Iran” if Tehran rejects his terms, US President Donald Trump has announced a second round of peace talks in Islamabad, as a two-week ceasefire is set to expire Wednesday and with Iran yet to confirm it will attend.
Trump said Vice President JD Vance, special envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner would arrive in Pakistan on Monday evening for negotiations. Iran was noncommittal, with semi-official Tasnim News Agency reporting Tehran would not send negotiators while the US naval blockade of Iranian ports, which took effect last Monday, remained in place.
What they said: "We’re offering a very fair and reasonable DEAL, and I hope they take it because, if they don’t, the United States is going to knock out every single Power Plant, and every single Bridge, in Iran. NO MORE MR. NICE GUY!” Trump wrote on social media.
“Iran decided to fire bullets yesterday in the Strait of Hormuz — A Total Violation of our Ceasefire Agreement!”
The context: The strait had briefly reopened Friday before Iran reversed that decision on Saturday after Trump declined to lift the US blockade. Iranian forces on Saturday fired on two Indian-flagged vessels attempting to cross, bringing shipping to a standstill. India summoned Iran’s ambassador in response.
Earlier on Saturday, Iran’s chief negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said gaps “remain significant” but talks were making progress, while Deputy Foreign Minister Saeed Khatibzadeh told the AP Iran would not hand over enriched uranium to the US, calling it a “non-starter”.
The numbers: Friday’s announcement from Iran that the strait would reopen caused the sharpest one-day drop in oil prices in years, with Brent crude falling 9% to around USD90 a barrel, before Iran’s reversal dashed that optimism. Energy Aspects founder Amrita Sen told Reuters prices would likely rise again on Monday. Even if the strait fully reopened it would take weeks for substantial Persian Gulf oil and gas to reach buyers, with the International Energy Agency warning this week that more than 80 energy facilities had been damaged and restoring output to prewar levels could take up to two years.
The sources: Donald Trump post , Associated Press
